RRRIINNGG RRRIINNGG.
Ben Jackson awoke abruptly. Disoriented, he realized after a moment that he was, indeed, in bed and he was, indeed, being awoken at- he rolled away from Polly to peer at the digital clock- 1:02 in the morning.
Polly's voice came muffled from the pillow. "You get it."
"Or I could just let it ring out."
"It might be important."
"Okay, okay." He groaned, rolled himself out of bed, and stumbled his way to the desk across the room. He glared at the telephone before roughly picking it up. "Hello?"
"Mhwhw ahwhssd."
He did not need this now. "What?"
There was a girl's voice in the background of the line.
*Jamie, you've got the phone upside down*
*Alright, alright* There was a fumbling, and then, "BEN? IS THAT YOU? CAN YOU HEAR ME? IT'S JAMIE!"
Ben pulled the phone away from his ear. He was being shouted at by a thick Scottish accent in the wee hours of the morning. Damn.
*You don't need to shout!*
*Alright Zoe, alright. I'm not stupid*
*I didn't say you were. I was just informing you that you are using the device incorrectly*
Ben took a moment to collect his thoughts. "Jamie? Jamie McCrimmon?"
"Aye! Is this Ben? Ben Jackson?"
Ben sighed. "Yes, Jamie."
"Is Polly there?"
Polly sleepily pushed herself up to look at him. "Who is it?"
"It's Jamie."
"Jamie McCrimmon? Why is he calling? After all these years? Is everything alright?"
"I don't know. Jamie, why are you calling?"
"I just wanted to talk to ye, and Victoria let me borrow her telley-phone-"
*It's 'telephone'*
Ben didn't know who Victoria was, and didn't feel like asking. Probably whatever poor soul was being attacked by monsters this week and had been dragged into the Doctor's madness. "Jamie, is the Doctor there?"
"Weelll, that's a reeaally long story-"
"I'm sure it is." Ben rubbed his forehead with his free hand. "Jamie?"
"Yes?" The voice on the other side of the line sounded so eager, and it had been- he didn't know how many years, decades- and Ben hated to do this, but-
"Jamie, Mate, are you and, and"
*Zoe*
"Are you and Zoe and Victoria in danger right now?"
There was a pause.
*Jamie, he can't see you shaking your head*
*But don't they have those fancy moving-picture ones like in-*
*This isn't a video-phone. You just talk into it*
*Oh.* And then, "Why would we be in danger?"
*Jamie!*
"Oh, oh yeah. Nay."
"Are you gonna be in danger in the next seven hours?"
"I dinnae think so-"
"Is there anything stopping you from calling us in seven hours?"
"Nay, but-"
"Then call back then, Mate. Me and Polly are in India, and there's this crazy thing called time zones." The phone fell back on its base with a clack.